Belt-coiler for thrashing-machines



( o Model.)

MpB. HELIKER.

BELT GOILER FOR THRASHING MACHINES. No. 346,042. Patented July 20,1886.

u. PEYERS Phulouma nphor. wmiwm ac beltcoiling device.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MERLIN B. HELIKER, OF FARMINGTON, MICHIGAN.

BELT-COILER FOR THRASHlNG-MACHINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 346,042, dated July 20,1886.

(No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, MERLIN B. HELIKER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Farmington, in the county of Oakland and State of Michigan,have invented new and useful Improvements in Belt-Ooilers for Thrashing-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

In steam-driven thrashing-machines the driving-belt, when not in use, isremoved from the pulleys and rolled u p, so as to be carried in compactform upon the machine.

For the purpose of carrying the belt I pro vide a coiling attachment forthe machine, consisting of a belt-rod having a pin for fastening thebelt thereto, which is adapted to be automatically unfastened from thebelt in the operation of uncoiling the latter for use, as hereinafterdescribed. The belt-rod is contained within a metal yokestrap, which isremovably fastened by tenons, and by said beltrod and a slide-latch, tothe side of the frame or other part of the machine. The inner end ofsaid belt-rod passes through and turns in a bearing in saidmachine-frame, and is provided at its outer end with a crank by which tocoil the belt, and with a ratchet and pawl by which to hold the coiledbelt tight upon the rod. A slotted slide-latch on the inside of themachine-frame looks with the inner shouldered or grooved end of thebelt-rod to fasten the latter to the machine; and the beltrod serves tohold the yoke-strap in its tenon fastenings, as hereinafter specified,and shown in the drawings, in which- Figure 1 represents a detached viewof the Fig. 2 shows the device as attached 601316 frame. Fig. 3 shows anend view of the device with the belt coiled thereon. Fig. 4 shows atransverse section through the coiled belt. Fig. 5 shows a plan view ofthe yoke-frame with one of its tenons fitting in its mortise. Fig. 6shows the belt-rod and the means for holding the belt; and Fig. 7 showsthe slotted slide-latch for fastening the coilingrod to the frame.

The framing of the thrashing-machine is represented at a; but thesupport for my device may either be a part of said frame or a fixed barupon its side or any other convenient part thereof.

The housing for the coiling device is a metal yoke-strap, b, with tworight-angled ends, which terminate in tenons or shoulders 0, while themiddle part of said yoke-strap has a central hole for the coiling-rod d,the inner end of which passes through a hole in the frame or bar, sothat the belt-rod has its outer bearing in the middle part of saidyoke-strap and its inner bearing in the frame when the coiler isattached for use. The belt rod carries a ratchet, e, on its outer end,against the middle part of the yoke-strap, b, and the latter has a pawl,z, to hold the ratchet when the belt is coiled tight. The belt-rod islonger between the frame or bar and the middle part of the yoke-strapthan the belt is wide; and as a means of connecting the belt to the rod,so that it may be coiled thereon, I provide a holdingpin, a, which ishung by a universal eye-joint, m, at one end to the rod, and at its freeend is set into a hook, r, on the rod, and thus serves to loop the beltto the rod. The hook 1 stands with its open end in the direction inwhich the belt is coiled or wound, so as to hold the pin parallel withthe belt-rod in turning the latter to eoil the belt, and thereby renderit certain to connect the belt to the rod, and to maintain suchconnection during and at the end of the coiling operation. When the belthas been completely uncoiled for removing it for use, the pin will beautomatically unhooked by the belt pulling it out of the hook as thelatter turns back, leaving the pin free to fall down, so that the beltwill slide off and free itself from the pin at once by reason of thecapacity of the latter to swing out of the hook upon the universal-jointconnection. a

In applying the attachment to the thrasherframe the beltrod is insertedin the frameopening and the tenoned ends of the strap are inserted incorresponding mortises, s, in said frame, so as to bring the grooved orshouldered end 0 of the rod a little beyond the inner side of said frameto receive the slidelatch to, which secures the belt-rod and serves toalso fasten the yoke-strap to said frame in a secure manner.

The removal of the device is effected by unfastening the slide-latch wfrom the groove of the belt-rod.

Below'and outside of the yoke-strap I place an idle-roll, x, on whichthe free end of the belt is held when wound tightly; or the free end ofthe belt may be tied to either end of the yoke-strap or to a pin. Thebelt-rod has a crank, u, by which it is turned and the belt wound uponit; and to uncoil the belt the pawl is turned out of contact with theratchet. The coiler being attached to the machine the belt is loopedover the pin 12 and'coiled upon the rod (1, its free end being securedas stated. As the pin a is attached at one end to'the coiling-rod by ajoint which permits the pin to move in any direction, and as the freeend of the latter lies in a hook on said rod, the

tension of the belt in winding will keep the pin in the hook, and thusfasten the belt on the pin; but in unwinding the belt for use it will,when completely unwound, pull the end of the pin off the hook, and thusautomatically release the bolt from the pin. In fact the pin is releasedby the unwinding action ofthe rod, and falls out of the hook as the endof the belt is turned under the rod. Thejoint of the pin is made by aneye on the Winding-rod and the bent end of the pin, so that the lattercan swing freely in any direction on its joint, and is thus allowed tofall out of its confininghook, as stated.

I claim 1. In a belt-coiler for thrashing-machines, the combination,with a frame and a suitable housing, of the coiling-rod having a hook,1", arranged as described, a pin connected by a universal joint to saidcoiling-rod, and means for detachably fastening said coiling-rod andhousing to said frame, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with the frame and yoke-strap, of the belt-coilingrod having a hook, r, and a groove or shoulder at one end and a crankand ratchet at the other, a pin jointed to said rod, the pawl attachedto said yoke-strap, and the slide-latch, substantially as herein setforth.

3. The combination, in a belt-coiler for thrashing-machines, of themortised frame and yokestrap having tenoned ends 0, the rod d, havingthe hook r and a grooved end and the ratchet and crank, the pawl 73, andthe slide-latch 10, all arranged and constructed as herein set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

' MERLIN B. HELIKER.

Witnesses.

HORACE A. GREEN, ALBERT A. MURRAY.

